# Hey fuckface, it's pronounced NOO-klee-ar, NOO-klee-ar **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659 "2005-06-17T05:26:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/61 "2005-06-17T21:05:46Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Hey, _Bugs Bunny_ pronounces it that way. And if it’s good enough for Bugs, it’s good enough for me. What a maroon. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/62 "2005-06-17T21:17:32Z")
> [@CC](#): > > In fact, in my view, folks who don’t think well can not speak well, nor can they write well. [Your view is fascinatingly incorrect](http://nasw.org/finn/ws.html): > [@](#): > > Anne Louise McGarrah can’t add 15 and 25. Yet she is an avid reader and quite articulate about it. “I love to read,” she says. “Biographies, fiction, novels, different articles in newspapers, articles in magazines, just about anything. I just read a book about a young girl – she was born in Scotland – and her family who lived on a farm. I love to read books because I can put myself in that book and be in there with her and watch her go through these experiences.” > > At 42, McGarrah has difficulty telling left from right. Yet she plays the piano and the recorder and appreciates classical music: “I love listening to music. I like a little bit of Beethoven, but I specifically like Mozart and Chopin and Bach. I like the way they develop their music – it’s very light, it’s very airy, and it’s very cheerful music. I find Beethoven depressing.” > > If McGarrah is asked to get several items from a cupboard, she’ll get confused and come back with only one. Yet she’s one of the most sensitive people you’re likely to meet – and she’s very aware of her own condition. “I get a lot of people staring at me,” she says. “One time I had a very weird experience. I was in the store, and I was shopping, minding my own business, doing my usual, regular shopping. A woman came up to me, and she was staring and staring and staring at me, and the next thing you know she ran away. It was very odd. I felt really, really bewildered by it. I wanted to talk to her and I wanted to ask her, ‘Well why are you staring at me? Is there something wrong? Can I help you to understand that I have a disability? I’ll be glad to answer any questions you have about it.’” Smart people can be poor talkers; people with severe mental retardation (people with Williams Syndrome usually score between 50 and 70 on IQ tests) can be brilliant talkers. We live in a fascinating world. **dnooman** suggests one rule. I’ve got an alternate suggestion: don’t soapboxify on language unless you’ve studied how it works. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/63 "2005-06-17T22:11:32Z")
Hatred of the “nucular” pronunciations is one of my ignorances that this board successfully fought, and it happened in the very thread **Lib** linked. I fought against it desperately, but in the end, hatred of that pronunciation is irrational. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/64 "2005-06-17T22:17:17Z")
Dork - it’s a good thing this is the pit. Otherwise, your arrogant and supercilious rant would be inappropriate. Look again, idiot. I said that - in my view - people who do not think well, do not speak well, nor do they write well. You know nothing of what I’ve studied, but I can tell that one thing you HAVEN’T studied is IQ tests. Your example of Anne McGarrah only points to the inherent flaws in the concept of measuring intelligence. I’ll stay with the point I made, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/65 "2005-06-17T22:50:06Z")
Its nucular dummy, the S is silent ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/66 "2005-06-18T02:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > **CC** : In my view - people who do not think well, do not speak well, nor do they write well. Whether that is true or not, pronunciation of words is not a reliable indicator of one’s intelligence. Do you agree or disagree? > [@](#): > > **snailboy** : Other mispronounced words I’ve heard from old people are Loo-zee-an-uh (Louisiana) Proper names may be pronounced in a variety of way correctly. Think how many ways _New Orleans_ can be pronounced! > [@](#): > > **Jackmannii** : It may not be related to intelligence, but habitual mispronunciation of words like “nuclear”… I suspect that you and I pronounce _nuclear_ the same way. When I hear Presidents Carter or Bush say it, my teeth grind on edge, my ears ring and my eyes roll back in my head. But they are **not** mispronouncing it. There is no such thing as “majority rule” in determining “standard English.” There is no preferred standard pronunciation of one region over another – except in broadcasting, of course. If you are the boss and you are interviewing someone for a job, the above rule does not apply. Just remember, we Southerners have our way of saying things that are comfortable and “right” to our ears too. Sometimes outsiders sound “thick” to us, but we try to be considerate and not hurt anyone’s feelings. **guizot** , that addresses your comment about Southern Congresspeople also: > [@](#): > > When Southern congresspeople “hyperdipthong” on the floors of the House and Senate, people don’t really seem to care. I know that’s a regionalism, but why not complain about that? Want to give an example of a _hyperdipthong_ and explain why it’s wrong? Welcome to SDMB! I already like you for saying _Congresspeople_ instead of the usual. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/67 "2005-06-18T03:09:48Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Whether that is true or not, pronunciation of words is not a reliable indicator of one’s intelligence. Do you agree or disagree? > > Want to give an example of a _hyperdipthong_ and explain why it’s wrong? #1) I basically agree, although I think I believe that while not a 100% reliable indicator, it may be among a constellation of features that in the aggregate give a pretty good indication. #2) whatever the hell “hyperdipthong” means, I’m betting that it is supposed to be spelled - AND pronounced - hyperdiphthong. i.e. Hy per diff thong, not Hy per dip thong. (related to the commonly misspelled and mispronounce diphtheria.) xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/68 "2005-06-18T03:29:04Z")
This is a completely new and original rant that I have never seen before on these forums. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/69 "2005-06-18T04:03:07Z")
This is beyond lame. There are enough arguably valid reasons to pit the POTUS, but this ain’t one of them, unless you’re one of the group who needs the entire front page papered with anti-Bush bitching. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/70 "2005-06-18T04:40:57Z")
> [@](#): > > **CC** : #1) I basically agree, although I think I believe that while not a 100% reliable indicator, it may be among a constellation of features that in the aggregate give a pretty good indication. There may be exceptions, but if a person uses the language beautifully and skillfully, I always come to the concusion that that person is reasonably intelligent. I have made a fool of myself in the past in assuming that people who used poor grammar and truly mispronounced words were less than bright. > [@](#): > > #2) whatever the hell “hyperdipthong” means, I’m betting that it is supposed to be spelled - AND pronounced - hyperdiphthong. i.e. Hy per diff thong, not Hy per dip thong. (related to the commonly misspelled and mispronounce diphtheria.) I suspect you are right. I wish that I could pretend that I was trying to trap **guizot** , but I misspelled it myself – just as I mispronounce and misspell diphtheria. I knew better about _dipthong_, but had forgotten. I never mind being corrected by someone who knows her stuff and I was unaware that I’ve always fu…_done an injustice to_ “diphtheria.” (I depart now for English Teacher Disgrace Hell.) ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/71 "2005-06-18T14:24:35Z")
“…someone who knows her stuff…” her??? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/72 "2005-06-18T17:28:56Z")
I hate using the phrase “her or his.” ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/73 "2005-06-18T19:31:19Z")
you may now use “his.” And, actually, that’s a good place to use the apparently ungrammatical “their.” I vote for function over form in that case. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/74 "2005-06-19T04:54:40Z")
> [@CC](#): > > whatever the hell “hyperdipthong” means, I’m betting that it is supposed to be spelled - AND pronounced - hyperdiphthong. Of course it’s “dip **h** thong,” silly! What else did you think it would be? I’m just a lousy speller. Especially after dark. And I hardly ever use that word in English. If you’d like, I can make more gafs, a fau pas or two, for you to correct. And then **Zoe** could “trap” me good ‘n’ proper, too. Is it fun to get “trapped"? Anyway, it probably wasn’t a very apt term (“hyperdiphthong”)—just the only thing I could come up with at the moment. I know it’s a cliché, and it doesn’t describe the subtle and wonderful differences in pronunciation throughout the South, but I was thinking of the way some Southerners pronounce those diphthong-like vowels. Often they emphasize one part of the diphthong more than the other. So “five” (/faiv/) becomes “fuh-ayve” (/f^:aiv/?), or something like that; I don’t know if that’s clear, or even correct, but it was just an example. > [@Zoe](#): > > Want to give an example of a hyperdiphthong and explain why it’s wrong? > > Welcome to SDMB! Thank you. (I’d been lurking for years, but finally decided to register.) I wasn’t saying that it’s wrong, **Zoe**. It was a rhetorical question. The point was just that, while “nucular” isn’t a regionalism per se, those who say it are probably doing so without affectation, and so you might just as well complain about regionalisms like those in the South (which I personally wouldn’t). Many people say “prescription” as “perscription”; I think _I_ do. But nobody seems to care about that. For some reason “nucular” gets people all hot under the collar. It could be that when political figures are talking about things nuclear, more ears are focused than when somebody says “perscription.” > [@CC](#): > > And, actually, that’s a good place to use the apparently ungrammatical “their.” I vote for function over form in that case I agree completely, **CC**. Function is the key in this case. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/75 "2005-06-19T22:48:39Z")
Lois: And shame on you for scaring the kids with your nuclear nonsense! Peter: Heh, you said nuclear. It’s nucular, dummy. The “S” is silent. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/76 "2005-06-19T22:58:52Z")
Nuke-ya-ler, Nuke-ya-ler, Nuke-ya-ler, Nuke-ya-ler … ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/77 "2005-06-19T23:19:24Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Dork - it’s a good thing this is the pit. Otherwise, your arrogant and supercilious rant would be inappropriate. The hell are you talking about? That wasn’t a rant. > [@](#): > > Look again, idiot. I said that - in my view - people who do not think well, do not speak well, nor do they write well. Yes, I know what you said. I pointed you toward a synopsis of a disease of people with severe mental retardation who are extremely eloquent speakers. Unless you’ve got some fancy new recursive definition of “think well” that is recursive, my cite refutes your view. > [@](#): > > You know nothing of what I’ve studied, but I can tell that one thing you HAVEN’T studied is IQ tests. Your example of Anne McGarrah only points to the inherent flaws in the concept of measuring intelligence. I’ll stay with the point I made, thank you. You’re incorrect again, but not fascinatingly so this time. I’ve studied IQ tests enough to know of their limitations. I’ll further admit that folks with Williams Disease often show spectacular interpersonal skills. Then again, so does my boss’s poodle. When we talk about humans “thinking well,” we tend to be referring to their ability to reason. **Especially** when we discuss cognition in the context of language use. The ability to reason maps much more closely to IQ tests than it does to the ability to exercise interpersonal skills, which is why I used the former as shorthand for discussing the ability to think well. You can stay with the point you made if you want. The first time you made it, it was simple, forgiveable ignorance. If you stick with it, it’s willful ignorance, which is my cue to write you off. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/78 "2005-06-20T13:06:35Z")
I worked at a predominantly Southern-populated company in NYC and learned, among other things, that Southern people WILL NOT change their pronunciation of anything. Frankly, I find it part of their charm. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/79 "2005-06-20T14:09:58Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > …which is my cue to write you off. > > Daniel Imagine my dismay. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/80 "2005-06-20T19:26:19Z")
I don’t understand people who complain about variant pronounciations. It’s bad enough that America is so monoglotal; do we really need to have a standardized dialect? It seems to me that people who attack others’ speech patterns are either 1) insecure about their own idiolects or 2) prejusticed against diversity. And, for the record, I’m from Ohio and pronounce _nuclear_ as “nucular”. Most people from my home town do as well. (And _mature_ is “matur” not “machur”, _ancient_ is “ainchent” not “ainshent”, _wash_ is “woish” or “worsh”, and _soda_ is “pop”.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659.md?page=5)